In Slovenia

Maribor – For the third Saturday in a row, a crowd of more than 100 gathered in Maribor today to protest over Covid-19 vaccination and mandatory mask-wearing. Many of those addressing the rally doubted the existence of the novel coronavirus, claiming “it is all a conspiracy”.

Ljubljana – The opposition Left has drafted a bill to exclude potential foreign partners from Slovenia’s construction of the rail track between Divača and the port of Koper. The party believes Slovenia should have full control of this strategic infrastructure, while Hungary’s participation would have many negative consequences.

Ljubljana – Slovenian Press Agency (STA) director Bojan Veselinovič has told the government he is granting it access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA has never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who will access the documents on its behalf and in what way.

Ljubljana – Voters in Slovenia are apparently not tired of new faces and parties as more than 64% of the respondents in a public opinion poll conducted by Mediana for the newspaper Delo said the Slovenian political arena needs a new party that would fill the content gap.

Ljubljana – Three MPs of the opposition Pensioners’ Party (DeSUS) are upset about statements by interim party head Brigita Čokl about them in the media. They are particularly bothered by her saying that a stick would be needed to deal with MPs because the carrot approach does not work. They hired a lawyer demanding she revoke the statements.

Škofja Loka – The Škofja Loka Passion Play, Slovenia’s oldest play, was staged in the town of Škofja Loka on Good Friday exactly 300 years ago. Passion processions had been held in town before and the play was in the making for years, but the preserved manuscript is dated 1721.

Ljubljana – Four centre-left opposition parties have tabled a motion asking the National Assembly to impeach Prime Minister Janez Janša before the Constitutional Court, accusing him of violating several articles of the constitution and laws, pertaining to healthcare, media, prosecution and human and constitutional rights. Janša called the move pathetic.

Ljubljana – The executive council of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) discussed on Thursday the possibility of its leader Zdravko Počivalšek resigning as economy minister and returning to the National Assembly to secure an additional vote for the party, which recently saw three MPs leave its 8-member deputy group. It is yet to decide how to proceed.

The failure of government parties in Slovenia on Tuesday to dismiss as parliament speaker Igor Zorcic - although he is no longer in the ranks of the ruling coalition - has encouraged the opposition to call for snap elections.

Ljubljana – Igor Zorčič remains speaker of the National Assembly. The coalition failed with a motion to dismiss him Tuesday after he quit the Modern Centre Party (SMC) deputy group, as 45 voted in favour of the dismissal, one vote short of the required majority, and two votes were invalid.